We are staying in Zone 10 also known as “zona viva” . It is a close trip from the airport via shuttle and safe for walking. This afternoon we took a taxi to the Central Plaza. Being a Sunday it was packed with people. A meeting place for Guatemalan’s from all social classes. We admired the colorful fruits and vegetables and the homemade tamales were very tempting. There are several large colonial buildings surrounding the plaza including a cathedral and a cultural museum.
Tonight we had dinner with Annie Bird. Annie has worked for Rights Action in Guatemala for the past 12 years. She gave us a brief history of indigenous land rights. While the Guatemala Constitution protects Indigenous land rights there are no laws to enforce it. One of the groups Rights Action supports is Commundich (our grantee). They have been successful in preservng indigenous land rights. We will learn more about that tomorrow.
Borys Chinchilla, our guide, and Yvonne, our translator also joined us for dinner and we had a lively conversation about Guatemalan politics, the education system, local economies and impacts of global warming.
Jill and Ros were delayed getting back from the Peten but they are here now. We head out early tomorrow for our first site visit. A 3-4 hour van ride to Comotan/Zacapa. There will be 10 of us in a 12 person van.
Hasta la manana!
Linda
June 25, 2009 at 5:24 pm |
Hi everyone,
It is great to hear you are having a fun, safe and amazing trip so far. Thank you for the update. I look forward to reading more.
Syd